Happy Birthday to ~
SS Jonathan Villar (23)
Originally signed by the Phillies out of the Dominican Republic in 2008, Villar came to Houston as a part of the Oswalt trade in July 2010. After making his major league debut for Houston in July 2013, he has now played in 85 games for the Astros, hitting .242/.315/.358 with 16 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 22 stolen bases.
A LOOK AT THE ASTROS MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
Showing posts with label Jonathan Villar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jonathan Villar. Show all posts
Friday, May 2, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
2014 Grapefruit League Recap, Game 23
St. Louis Cardinals 6, Houston Astros 3
Jesús Guzmán, 1B/OF
1-2, RBI 2B in 7th
Jonathan Villar, SS
1-3, 3B, R, and a really good defensive play
Bullpen: Anthony Bass (1.2 IP, H, K), Raúl Valdés (0.2 IP, H, K), Jorge De Leon (1.2 IP, 2 K)
Combined: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 K
2014 Grapefruit League record: 8-15
W- Joe Kelly (2-1)
L- Jerome Williams (0-1)
S- Trevor Rosenthal (2)
Astros home runs: None.
Again, the Cardinals stormed out of the gate and mauled an Astros starter in the process.
Starting Pitcherr: Jerome Williams
Let's just say that Williams had some difficulty in keeping the ball in the park and leave it at that.
Final line: L (0-1), 4 IP, 9 H (3 home runs), 6 ER, 2 K
Bullpen
Astros relievers were solid once again as they combined for 4 scoreless innings to finish off the game. Anthony Bass allowed a hit and struck out 1 in 1.2 innings, Raúl Valdés allowed a hit and struck out 1 in 0.2 innings (final out of the 6th and first out of the 7th), and Jorge De Leon retired all 5 Cardinals that he faced, striking out 2 in 1.2 innings.
Offense
The Astros only managed 3 hits, but still put up 3 runs. Alas, the early hole proved to be too deep to dig out.
They didn't have a hit until the 6th, when Jonathan Villar led off with a triple. They didn't have to wait very long for their 2nd hit (and first run, for that matter), when Robbie Grossman legged out an infield single to bring Villar home. Grossman would later score on a wild pitch from Jorge Rondon/Matt Dominguez walk.
Adron Chambers walked to lead off the 7th and would score on a double from Jesús Guzmán.
Three Stars
3.
Jesús Guzmán, 1B/OF
1-2, RBI 2B in 7th
2.
Jonathan Villar, SS
1-3, 3B, R, and a really good defensive play
1.
Bullpen: Anthony Bass (1.2 IP, H, K), Raúl Valdés (0.2 IP, H, K), Jorge De Leon (1.2 IP, 2 K)
Combined: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 K
Next Up
The Astros head to the Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World to take on the Braves at 6:05 Eastern. Dallas Keuchel will match up against David Hale.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
2014 Grapefruit League Recap, Game 18
Miami Marlins 8, Houston Astros 1
2014 Grapefruit League record: 7-11
W- Jacob Turner (2-1)
L- Dallas Keuchel (2-1)
Once again, ugh.
Starting Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel
Keuchel was battered for 7 runs in the first 2 innings, including a 3-run homer from Giancarlo Stanton in the 1st. He did throw 2 scoreless frames after that, but the damage had been done.
Final line: L (2-1), 4 IP, 13 H (3-run HR), 7 ER, K
Bullpen
Astros relievers combined to throw 4 innings of 1-run ball after Keuchel left the game.
First up was Anthony Bass, who allowed 2 hits and struck out 1 over 2 scoreless. Matt Albers allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out the side in the 7th. And finally, Chad Qualls allowed a hit in the 8th.
Offense
The Astros only managed to get 3 singles (from Marwin Gonzalez, Marc Krauss, and Carlos Correa) off of Marlins pitching. They did get on the board first, courtesy of a Chris Carter sac fly in the 1st. Jonathan Villar and Matt Dominguez drew 2 walks apiece.
Three Stars
3.
Carlos Correa, SS
1-2
2.
Jonathan Villar, SS
0-1, R, 2 BB
1.
Anthony Bass, RHP
2 IP, 2 H, K
Next Up
The Astros' roadtrip continues with a stop in Viera to take on the Nationals. Jarred Cosart will be on the mound to take on Taylor Jordan. First pitch will be at 6:05 Eastern.
2014 Grapefruit League record: 7-11
W- Jacob Turner (2-1)
L- Dallas Keuchel (2-1)
Once again, ugh.
Starting Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel
Keuchel was battered for 7 runs in the first 2 innings, including a 3-run homer from Giancarlo Stanton in the 1st. He did throw 2 scoreless frames after that, but the damage had been done.
Final line: L (2-1), 4 IP, 13 H (3-run HR), 7 ER, K
Bullpen
Astros relievers combined to throw 4 innings of 1-run ball after Keuchel left the game.
First up was Anthony Bass, who allowed 2 hits and struck out 1 over 2 scoreless. Matt Albers allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out the side in the 7th. And finally, Chad Qualls allowed a hit in the 8th.
Offense
The Astros only managed to get 3 singles (from Marwin Gonzalez, Marc Krauss, and Carlos Correa) off of Marlins pitching. They did get on the board first, courtesy of a Chris Carter sac fly in the 1st. Jonathan Villar and Matt Dominguez drew 2 walks apiece.
Three Stars
3.
Carlos Correa, SS
1-2
2.
Jonathan Villar, SS
0-1, R, 2 BB
1.
Anthony Bass, RHP
2 IP, 2 H, K
Next Up
The Astros' roadtrip continues with a stop in Viera to take on the Nationals. Jarred Cosart will be on the mound to take on Taylor Jordan. First pitch will be at 6:05 Eastern.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
2014 Grapefruit League Recap, Game 11
Houston Astros 7, Washington Nationals 4
2014 Grapefruit League record: 5-6
W- Lucas Harrell (1-1)
L- Gio Gonzalez (0-1)
Astros home runs: Carlos Corporán (1, 2-run HR in 2nd)
As the old adage goes, one big inning can change the complexion of a baseball game. The Astros got a 5-spot in the 6th to blow this game open.
Starting Pitcher: Lucas Harrell
Lucas Harrell threw 4 fine innings as he is trying to stake his claim to a rotation spot. The Nationals' only run off of him came on a Bryce Harper groundout. The only hits they managed off of him were doubles.
Final line: W (1-1), 4 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K
Bullpen
Mike Foltynewicz was the first man out, and the only run he allowed was a solo homer to Steven Souza to lead off the 6th.
Josh Zeid also allowed a run in the 7th; his outing got a bit hairy, but he escaped a bases-loaded situation without suffering further damage.
Alex Sogard struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 8th, and Josh Fields surrendered the Nationals' final run on a force play in the 9th.
Offense
After George Springer legged out an infield single in the 2nd, he stole 2nd base, then Carlos Corporán put the Astros on the board and gave them the lead with a 2-run homer.
They seized control in the 6th, as Corporán hit a 1-out double to get the assault going. He would score on a single from L.J. Hoes, who was lifted for Adron Chambers. After Gregorio Petit was hit by a pitch, Delino DeShields got on with a bunt single to load the bases. Jonathan Villar was next up, and he promptly cleared them with a double. After stealing 3rd, Villar came home with the Astros' final run of the evening on an RBI infield single from Japhet Amador.
Corporán and Petit both went 2-3. Corporán also had a multi-run game.
Three Stars
3.
Jonathan Villar, SS
1-3, 3-R 2B in 6th, SB (1)
2.
Lucas Harrell, RHP
W (1-1), 4 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K
1.
Carlos Corporán, C
2-3, 2B, 2-R HR (1), 2 R
Next Up
Next up is the home portion of this matchup against the Nationals. First pitch will be at 1:05 Eastern on Wednesday. Jerome Williams will make his first start of the spring after a couple of bullpen outings. He will be opposed by Jordan Zimmermann.
2014 Grapefruit League record: 5-6
W- Lucas Harrell (1-1)
L- Gio Gonzalez (0-1)
Astros home runs: Carlos Corporán (1, 2-run HR in 2nd)
As the old adage goes, one big inning can change the complexion of a baseball game. The Astros got a 5-spot in the 6th to blow this game open.
Starting Pitcher: Lucas Harrell
Lucas Harrell threw 4 fine innings as he is trying to stake his claim to a rotation spot. The Nationals' only run off of him came on a Bryce Harper groundout. The only hits they managed off of him were doubles.
Final line: W (1-1), 4 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K
Bullpen
Mike Foltynewicz was the first man out, and the only run he allowed was a solo homer to Steven Souza to lead off the 6th.
Josh Zeid also allowed a run in the 7th; his outing got a bit hairy, but he escaped a bases-loaded situation without suffering further damage.
Alex Sogard struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 8th, and Josh Fields surrendered the Nationals' final run on a force play in the 9th.
Offense
After George Springer legged out an infield single in the 2nd, he stole 2nd base, then Carlos Corporán put the Astros on the board and gave them the lead with a 2-run homer.
They seized control in the 6th, as Corporán hit a 1-out double to get the assault going. He would score on a single from L.J. Hoes, who was lifted for Adron Chambers. After Gregorio Petit was hit by a pitch, Delino DeShields got on with a bunt single to load the bases. Jonathan Villar was next up, and he promptly cleared them with a double. After stealing 3rd, Villar came home with the Astros' final run of the evening on an RBI infield single from Japhet Amador.
Corporán and Petit both went 2-3. Corporán also had a multi-run game.
Three Stars
3.
Jonathan Villar, SS
1-3, 3-R 2B in 6th, SB (1)
2.
Lucas Harrell, RHP
W (1-1), 4 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K
1.
Carlos Corporán, C
2-3, 2B, 2-R HR (1), 2 R
Next Up
Next up is the home portion of this matchup against the Nationals. First pitch will be at 1:05 Eastern on Wednesday. Jerome Williams will make his first start of the spring after a couple of bullpen outings. He will be opposed by Jordan Zimmermann.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
2014 Grapefruit League Recap, Game 5
New York Mets 6, Houston Astros 2
2014 Grapefruit League record: 3-2
The Mets jumped out to a 4-0 lead after 2 innings and the Astros couldn't convert when they needed to.
W- Zack Wheeler (1-0)
L- Rudy Owens (0-1)
Home runs (for the Astros): Jonathan Villar (1)
Starting Pitcher: Rudy Owens
Owens was roughed up early as the Mets put up 3 in the 1st before he got an out. After he walked Eric Young to lead off the inning, Chris Young tagged him for an RBI double, and Curtis Granderson torched him with a 2-run homer. He got that elusive first out by getting Brandon Allen to fly out, but a single sandwiched in between 2 walks ended his day.
Final line- L (0-1), 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB
Bullpen
Jorge De Leon inherited a bases-loaded situation when he came in, but he avoided further disaster by getting 2 flyouts to end the inning. Granderson took him for a ride in the 2nd.
Josh Fields allowed 2 hits and struck out 1 in a scoreless 3rd.
Luis Cruz struck out 2 in 2 innings. He did have all zeros on his line, but an error from Jonathan Villar in the 4th allowed Eric Young to reach.
Paul Clemens worked the 6th and allowed an RBI single to Brandon Nimmo.
Bobby Doran allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 1 in the 7th, and Nick Tropeano allowed an unearned run in the 8th after an error from Carlos Correa.
Offense
This was it: a 2-run homer from Jonathan Villar in the 5th.
The Astros left the bases loaded in the 7th when Leo Heras grounded out, and they left runners on the corners to end the game.
Three Stars
3rd star was a little tough.
3.
2.
1.
Next Up
Lucas Harrell will make his 2nd start of the spring in Kissimmee against the Tigers, who will go with Max Scherzer. First pitch is at 1:05 Eastern. This will be the 1st spring game televised by CSN Houston, so if you're one of the 40%, you'll be getting the chance to see the Astros play a baseball game on your TV screen for the first time this year.
Three Stars
3rd star was a little tough.
3.
Bobby Doran, RHP
IP, H, BB, K
2.
Jonathan Villar, SS
1-2, 2-R HR (1)
1.
Luis Cruz, LHP
2 IP, 2 K
Next Up
Lucas Harrell will make his 2nd start of the spring in Kissimmee against the Tigers, who will go with Max Scherzer. First pitch is at 1:05 Eastern. This will be the 1st spring game televised by CSN Houston, so if you're one of the 40%, you'll be getting the chance to see the Astros play a baseball game on your TV screen for the first time this year.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
It Was a Very Big Year For ...
Back in March, I wrote a piece about a few players for whom I declared, "This is going to be a very big year." I would like to revisit what I said back in March and what ultimately happened with each of them. Last week, I looked at a few pitchers. This week it's position players. The article, in full, follows with updates.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've talked to John Manuel of Baseball America, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and others about many of the players in the Astros farm system, both prospect and non-prospect alike. One phrase kept coming up time and time again. "This is going to be a big year for (fill-in-the-blank)." I found myself saying it as well.
With the Astros depth increasing, players will need to step up to keep up. For some, it may be a matter of staying healthy. For some, it will be recapturing earlier promise. For some, it will be taking that next step developmentally. Here are just a few position players for whom THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIG YEAR.
1B/DH Chase Davidson
Davidson turned 23 in January and has only played 53 games professionally to date. Davidson was originally drafted in the third round by the Astros in 2008 but did not sign; they re-drafted him in 2011 in the 41st round. In his first season, he hit .327/.417/.630 with 13 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 44 RBI in 44 games. He also struck out 53 times. In 2012, he only appeared in nine games with Tri-City in June before disappearing off the radar for the remainder of the year. At 23, he will need to get healthy, stay healthy and move quickly through the system before time starts working against him.
UPDATE: Time is now officially working against Chase Davidson. He will be 24 in January and he has yet to advance beyond Low A. Davidson only appeared in 10 games for Quad Cities this season, the last of which was on April 23rd. Presumably, he was injured (although I don't know that for a fact). In three professional seasons, Davidson has only played in 63 games. In his 10 games this season (42 at-bats), he hit .238/.289/.381 with three doubles, one home run and five RBI. He walked twice and struck out 21 times in those 10 games. To put it bluntly, I find it increasingly difficult to find a path forward for Mr. Davidson.
SS Jonathan Villar
Yes, Villar has all of the tools but he has yet to put them all together consistently. He needs to show more focus defensively. He has a tendency to speed up the game and make mental errors in the field. Prior to breaking his hand in July, Villar's bat did show signs of coming around but he lost valuable developmental time. Villar won't turn 22 until May so he still has plenty of time to put it all together, but if he doesn't take that next step forward, he could find himself jockeying for position in the Astros depth charts.
UPDATE: Villar spent the first 91 games of the season with Oklahoma City where he definitely made inroads with the bat, hitting .277/.341/.442 with 16 doubles, eight triples, eight home runs, 51 RBI and 31 stolen bases. He then made his major league debut on July 22nd, and in 58 games in Houston, he hit .243/.321/.319 with nine doubles, two triples, one home run, eight RBI, 18 stolen bases and one spectacularly embarrassing baserunning move. But to his credit, he also did this. Overall, I feel as though his baserunning and his bat lived up to expectations at the major league level, but there were still signs that Villar's internal defensive clock needs adjustment. His 16 errors tied for fifth in the American League, despite playing in significantly fewer games than the other category leaders. And before you SABR-types jump on me for using errors, I looked up his UZR for the Astros and it was -8.1 which isn't exactly great either (albeit based on a relatively small sample size). With all that said, personally I thought that he looked better in the field than he did when I saw him in Corpus Christi last season. Ultimately, if he can be more consistent defensively, it will go a long way towards his realization of sustained success at the major league level.
SS Jio Mier
Speaking of which, Jio Mier could be the one to challenge Villar, but he has to stay healthy and he has to continue the progress he made last season (before a bad hamstring injury) and later in the Arizona Fall League. He missed a large chunk of the 2012 season due to the injury, but it appeared that he was finally putting things together at the plate, hitting .292/.396/.409 at Lancaster and .297/.333/.422 in the Arizona Fall League. If Villar falters and Mier continues his progress and stays healthy, things could get interesting. Mier won't be 23 until August. Did I mention that he really needs to stay healthy?
UPDATE: Jio, Jio, Jio. What can I say? I really like Jio. I'm really rooting for him, but his bat was a definite disappointment in the 2013 season. Everyone I spoke with when I was in Corpus Christi this summer simply raved about Jio's defense and that's precisely what I saw on the field, but what I saw in the batter's box was discouraging. In 104 games, he hit .194/.293/.265 with 10 doubles and five home runs. As far as I know, he was healthy all season so his lack of production can't be blamed on that. I refuse to give up on Jio, but he is going to have to make very big strides at the plate in the coming season because, frankly, there is a great deal of talent coming up through the system looking to challenge him.
C/OF Mike Kvasnicka
I'm not even sure where to start with Kvasnicka. His development seems to have been stunted by his moves from catcher to third base back to catcher and now, apparently, to right field. Kvasnicka had a horrible start to his 2012 season, but seemed to have gotten into a groove at the plate about the time he was moved to right field. He also found his home run stroke, tripling his home run output from prior years. But the fact remains that he is 24 years old and hasn't gotten above Low A yet. He will need to come to Spring Training prepared to show that he belongs and will need to contribute immediately wherever he is placed.
UPDATE: Well, Kvasnicka did have a very big year ... for another team. Traded to the Twins for RHP Gonzalo Sanudo in March, Kvasnicka didn't make his season debut until June, reportedly due to a wrist injury, but played extremely well in 69 games for the High A Fort Myer Miracles, hitting .282/.341/.460 with 13 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 40 RBI. He played most of his games, by the way, in right field.
1B/DH Telvin Nash
Telvin Nash just turned 22 last month. He needs to do two things. He needs to replicate his home run power outside the hitter-friendly confines of Lancaster and he needs to cut down on the strikeouts. If Nash is promoted to AA this season, I think he will find that the more advanced pitchers will take advantage of the holes in his swing. He will have to find a way to adjust. The recent news that Nash lost 30 pounds during the offseason tells me that he is highly motivated. That is encouraging.
UPDATE: Nash gets an incomplete for the season, but the news is mostly positive. He last played on July 18th and was ultimately placed on the DL for the remainder of the season. Since he didn't advance beyond Lancaster, we still don't know whether or not his power will translate away from The Hangar. But one thing he did accomplish was cutting down on his strikeouts. Nash struck out in over 44% of his plate appearances in 2012. He cut that down to approximately 34.5% in 2013. Still a lot of strikeouts, but a huge improvement! And he improved his walk rate as well. His improved discipline at the plate didn't hamper his home run production so that is encouraging as well. In 62 games, he hit .246/.357/.500 (as compared to .224/.316/.494 in 2012) with 10 doubles, 16 home runs and 48 RBI.
>>>>>>><<<<<<<
With the Astros depth increasing, players will need to step up to keep up. For some, it may be a matter of staying healthy. For some, it will be recapturing earlier promise. For some, it will be taking that next step developmentally. Here are just a few position players for whom THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIG YEAR.
1B/DH Chase Davidson
Davidson turned 23 in January and has only played 53 games professionally to date. Davidson was originally drafted in the third round by the Astros in 2008 but did not sign; they re-drafted him in 2011 in the 41st round. In his first season, he hit .327/.417/.630 with 13 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 44 RBI in 44 games. He also struck out 53 times. In 2012, he only appeared in nine games with Tri-City in June before disappearing off the radar for the remainder of the year. At 23, he will need to get healthy, stay healthy and move quickly through the system before time starts working against him.
UPDATE: Time is now officially working against Chase Davidson. He will be 24 in January and he has yet to advance beyond Low A. Davidson only appeared in 10 games for Quad Cities this season, the last of which was on April 23rd. Presumably, he was injured (although I don't know that for a fact). In three professional seasons, Davidson has only played in 63 games. In his 10 games this season (42 at-bats), he hit .238/.289/.381 with three doubles, one home run and five RBI. He walked twice and struck out 21 times in those 10 games. To put it bluntly, I find it increasingly difficult to find a path forward for Mr. Davidson.
SS Jonathan Villar
Yes, Villar has all of the tools but he has yet to put them all together consistently. He needs to show more focus defensively. He has a tendency to speed up the game and make mental errors in the field. Prior to breaking his hand in July, Villar's bat did show signs of coming around but he lost valuable developmental time. Villar won't turn 22 until May so he still has plenty of time to put it all together, but if he doesn't take that next step forward, he could find himself jockeying for position in the Astros depth charts.
UPDATE: Villar spent the first 91 games of the season with Oklahoma City where he definitely made inroads with the bat, hitting .277/.341/.442 with 16 doubles, eight triples, eight home runs, 51 RBI and 31 stolen bases. He then made his major league debut on July 22nd, and in 58 games in Houston, he hit .243/.321/.319 with nine doubles, two triples, one home run, eight RBI, 18 stolen bases and one spectacularly embarrassing baserunning move. But to his credit, he also did this. Overall, I feel as though his baserunning and his bat lived up to expectations at the major league level, but there were still signs that Villar's internal defensive clock needs adjustment. His 16 errors tied for fifth in the American League, despite playing in significantly fewer games than the other category leaders. And before you SABR-types jump on me for using errors, I looked up his UZR for the Astros and it was -8.1 which isn't exactly great either (albeit based on a relatively small sample size). With all that said, personally I thought that he looked better in the field than he did when I saw him in Corpus Christi last season. Ultimately, if he can be more consistent defensively, it will go a long way towards his realization of sustained success at the major league level.
SS Jio Mier
Speaking of which, Jio Mier could be the one to challenge Villar, but he has to stay healthy and he has to continue the progress he made last season (before a bad hamstring injury) and later in the Arizona Fall League. He missed a large chunk of the 2012 season due to the injury, but it appeared that he was finally putting things together at the plate, hitting .292/.396/.409 at Lancaster and .297/.333/.422 in the Arizona Fall League. If Villar falters and Mier continues his progress and stays healthy, things could get interesting. Mier won't be 23 until August. Did I mention that he really needs to stay healthy?
UPDATE: Jio, Jio, Jio. What can I say? I really like Jio. I'm really rooting for him, but his bat was a definite disappointment in the 2013 season. Everyone I spoke with when I was in Corpus Christi this summer simply raved about Jio's defense and that's precisely what I saw on the field, but what I saw in the batter's box was discouraging. In 104 games, he hit .194/.293/.265 with 10 doubles and five home runs. As far as I know, he was healthy all season so his lack of production can't be blamed on that. I refuse to give up on Jio, but he is going to have to make very big strides at the plate in the coming season because, frankly, there is a great deal of talent coming up through the system looking to challenge him.
C/OF Mike Kvasnicka
I'm not even sure where to start with Kvasnicka. His development seems to have been stunted by his moves from catcher to third base back to catcher and now, apparently, to right field. Kvasnicka had a horrible start to his 2012 season, but seemed to have gotten into a groove at the plate about the time he was moved to right field. He also found his home run stroke, tripling his home run output from prior years. But the fact remains that he is 24 years old and hasn't gotten above Low A yet. He will need to come to Spring Training prepared to show that he belongs and will need to contribute immediately wherever he is placed.
UPDATE: Well, Kvasnicka did have a very big year ... for another team. Traded to the Twins for RHP Gonzalo Sanudo in March, Kvasnicka didn't make his season debut until June, reportedly due to a wrist injury, but played extremely well in 69 games for the High A Fort Myer Miracles, hitting .282/.341/.460 with 13 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 40 RBI. He played most of his games, by the way, in right field.
1B/DH Telvin Nash
Telvin Nash just turned 22 last month. He needs to do two things. He needs to replicate his home run power outside the hitter-friendly confines of Lancaster and he needs to cut down on the strikeouts. If Nash is promoted to AA this season, I think he will find that the more advanced pitchers will take advantage of the holes in his swing. He will have to find a way to adjust. The recent news that Nash lost 30 pounds during the offseason tells me that he is highly motivated. That is encouraging.
UPDATE: Nash gets an incomplete for the season, but the news is mostly positive. He last played on July 18th and was ultimately placed on the DL for the remainder of the season. Since he didn't advance beyond Lancaster, we still don't know whether or not his power will translate away from The Hangar. But one thing he did accomplish was cutting down on his strikeouts. Nash struck out in over 44% of his plate appearances in 2012. He cut that down to approximately 34.5% in 2013. Still a lot of strikeouts, but a huge improvement! And he improved his walk rate as well. His improved discipline at the plate didn't hamper his home run production so that is encouraging as well. In 62 games, he hit .246/.357/.500 (as compared to .224/.316/.494 in 2012) with 10 doubles, 16 home runs and 48 RBI.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Astros Minor League Recaps
Sunday's Games
Round Rock over Oklahoma City 9-4
Ouch. I think my good mojo finally ran out. Either that or it just doesn't work in Oklahoma City. Asher Wojciechowski had a terrific start, allowing only one run on a solo home run in his six innings of work. He gave up four hits, walked two batters and struck out eight. The next two innings (Eric Berger 1.2IP and Jose Valdez 0.1IP) were also smooth sailing and the RedHawks took a 4-1 lead into the top of the ninth. They left the top of the ninth with a 9-4 deficit as Jose Valdez had a very rare implosion and ended up charged with seven earned runs while recording only two outs in the ninth. Philip Humber allowed one more run across before all was said and done and the 'Hawks went down meekly in the bottom of the frame. Up until the ninth inning, all of the scoring was via the long ball with Brandon Laird and Justin Maxwell hitting solo home runs and Jonathan Villar (3x5) hitting two of them. In his first appearance at AAA, Jon Singleton was two-for-four with two doubles (both of which were very close to being home runs as well) and a strikeout. Brett Wallace was three-for-four with a double.
San Antonio over Corpus Christi 7-2
Jake Buchanan got his first loss of the season, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits in five and two-thirds innings. His ERA climbed north to 1.99 in the process. Matt Heidenreich was charged with one run in his two and a thirds innings. The Hooks scored one in the fifth as Drew Muren hit a lead-off triple and was driven in by a Jio Mier (2x4) single and one more in the sixth on an Erik Castro (2x4) home run.
Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 4-2
Aaron West got the start and the loss as he allowed two runs via the long ball in his three innings of work. He allowed four hits and struck out three. He was followed by one and two-thirds from Blair Walters (4H 2R 3SO). Cameron Lamb and Tommy Shirley took it the rest of the way with perfect outings. The JetHawks did all of their scoring in the sixth as Telvin Nash doubled in Ryan McCurdy (2x3 2B BB) and then scored on a ground out.
Quad Cities over Burlington 5-4
Starter Mike Hauschild gave up three runs on six hits in four and a third innings. Two of those runs came across under Mitch Lambson's watch, but he and Colton Cain (3IP 1H 2SO) didn't allow any runs of their own. Juan Minaya got the save despite allowing a solo home run in the ninth. Quad Cities put up a four-spot in the third, starting out with a Jordan Scott double and then playing small ball ... singles, stolen bases, a sac bunt and taking advantage of errors. The final run in the fifth came across in similar fashion as Teoscar Hernandez (2x4 RBI 2R SB) reached on an error, stole second and took third on an error and scored on a Carlos Correa (2x3 2RBI R SB) sac fly.
Player of the Day: Jonathan Villar's two home run game is only a part of it. He looked very smooth and polished in the field as well. All the pieces look to be falling into place for Villar very nicely.
Pitcher of the Day: Asher Wojociechowski was dealing and really deserved the win. I suppose he'll have to settle for a little WTHB love.
Round Rock over Oklahoma City 9-4
Ouch. I think my good mojo finally ran out. Either that or it just doesn't work in Oklahoma City. Asher Wojciechowski had a terrific start, allowing only one run on a solo home run in his six innings of work. He gave up four hits, walked two batters and struck out eight. The next two innings (Eric Berger 1.2IP and Jose Valdez 0.1IP) were also smooth sailing and the RedHawks took a 4-1 lead into the top of the ninth. They left the top of the ninth with a 9-4 deficit as Jose Valdez had a very rare implosion and ended up charged with seven earned runs while recording only two outs in the ninth. Philip Humber allowed one more run across before all was said and done and the 'Hawks went down meekly in the bottom of the frame. Up until the ninth inning, all of the scoring was via the long ball with Brandon Laird and Justin Maxwell hitting solo home runs and Jonathan Villar (3x5) hitting two of them. In his first appearance at AAA, Jon Singleton was two-for-four with two doubles (both of which were very close to being home runs as well) and a strikeout. Brett Wallace was three-for-four with a double.
San Antonio over Corpus Christi 7-2
Jake Buchanan got his first loss of the season, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits in five and two-thirds innings. His ERA climbed north to 1.99 in the process. Matt Heidenreich was charged with one run in his two and a thirds innings. The Hooks scored one in the fifth as Drew Muren hit a lead-off triple and was driven in by a Jio Mier (2x4) single and one more in the sixth on an Erik Castro (2x4) home run.
Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 4-2
Aaron West got the start and the loss as he allowed two runs via the long ball in his three innings of work. He allowed four hits and struck out three. He was followed by one and two-thirds from Blair Walters (4H 2R 3SO). Cameron Lamb and Tommy Shirley took it the rest of the way with perfect outings. The JetHawks did all of their scoring in the sixth as Telvin Nash doubled in Ryan McCurdy (2x3 2B BB) and then scored on a ground out.
Quad Cities over Burlington 5-4
Starter Mike Hauschild gave up three runs on six hits in four and a third innings. Two of those runs came across under Mitch Lambson's watch, but he and Colton Cain (3IP 1H 2SO) didn't allow any runs of their own. Juan Minaya got the save despite allowing a solo home run in the ninth. Quad Cities put up a four-spot in the third, starting out with a Jordan Scott double and then playing small ball ... singles, stolen bases, a sac bunt and taking advantage of errors. The final run in the fifth came across in similar fashion as Teoscar Hernandez (2x4 RBI 2R SB) reached on an error, stole second and took third on an error and scored on a Carlos Correa (2x3 2RBI R SB) sac fly.
Player of the Day: Jonathan Villar's two home run game is only a part of it. He looked very smooth and polished in the field as well. All the pieces look to be falling into place for Villar very nicely.
Pitcher of the Day: Asher Wojociechowski was dealing and really deserved the win. I suppose he'll have to settle for a little WTHB love.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Astros Minor League Recaps
Friday's Games
DSL Astros 6, DSL Royals 4
The DSL Astros turned five hits, two walks and an error in
the fourth inning into six runs. Outside of the fourth inning they only had two
other hits and scored no runs, but the offense in the fourth was enough to take
the win. Elieser Hernandez (1-0) started on the mound and threw five innings,
allowing three hits, a run, a walk and struck out a quartet to earn his first
win. Harold Arauz came on for the last out of the eighth and after facing nine
batters in the ninth, escaped with his second save of the season. Arauz
recorded a hit, two runs, a walk, a HBP, a walk and a K in his time on the
hill. None of the runs scored against the DSL Astros in this game were earned.
Victor Tavarez (2X4 R) and Brian Pena (2X4 R RBI SO) both had multi-hit games
on Friday while Jarico Reynoso and Luis Payano both stole their second base of
the season so far.
Quad Cities River Bandits 6, Cedar Rapids Kernels 1
The River Bandits shut down their opponents in this
commanding win on the road to take the series. Daniel Minor pitched the first
three innings and allowed a run in the first and four hits overall, while
walking two and striking out one. After Minor left the game, Quad Cities would
not allow another hit through the next six shutout innings. Mitchell Lambson
worked the fourth in perfecto fashion, striking out every batter he faced.
Lance McCullers (3-4) pitched the fifth through eighth and walked a pair as he
tallied five Ks and picked up the win. John Neely closed out the game and faced
just three batters even though he hit the second he faced with a pitch. Neely
had already struck out the first before the second took his base and the third
batter up hit into a double play to end the game. At the plate, the River
Bandits were working hard too, making the most of some timely extra base hits
(four of their six runs were products of extra-base hits). Jordan Scott (1X3 R
3B 2RBI BB) got the scoring started in the third inning with a massive triple
that scored Ariel Ovando (1X4 R 2SO) and Teoscar Hernandez (1X3 R 2B BB SO).
Carlos Correa (2X5 R 2B RBI) hit a double later in the same inning to bring
Scott home and Jesse Wierzbicki (1X5 R 2B RBI) hit a double in the fifth inning
that scored Correa.
Lancaster JetHawks 4, San Jose Giants 8
After getting on the board first in the third, the JetHawks allowed
seven runs (including a grand slam) in the fourth inning Friday and it proved
to be too much to overcome for the win. Kyle Hallock (3-1) started on the mound
and took the loss after allowing those seven runs (6ER), three hits, three
walks and a strikeout in his three innings of work. Theron Geith pitched the
fourth and gave up another run on two hits and struck out one before yielding
the mound to Luis Cruz, who finished out the game for Lancaster. Cruz kept his
four frames scoreless and allowed a pair of hits, while walking one and K-ing
five. Cruz retired the first ten batters he faced in order and ended up facing
two over the minimum. Delino DeShields had a good night swinging the bat,
ending up three-for-five with a strikeout and two RBI on a single in the sixth
inning. Nolan Fontana went two-for-five with a strikeout and Matt Duffy went
two-for-four with a run scored.
Midland Rock Hounds 0, Corpus Christi Hooks 5
The Hooks didn't score outside of the second inning on
Friday, but five runs there combined with the work on the mound was more than
enough for the win. Mainly because David Martinez and Mike Foltynewicz were
true to form at home yesterday, combining this time for a two-hit shutout.
Martinez (9-0) was on the mound for the first five innings and allowed just a
hit, walked one struck out five in route to his ninth win of the season. Folty
followed for the next three and picked up his third save after allowing one
hit, walking two and striking out a trio. Together the faced five over the
minimum (Folty also had a HBP). Jose Martinez hit one-for-four in the game with
a two RBI single in the second that capped off the Hooks' scoring. George
Springer went one-for-four too, with a strikeout, run scored and RBI double.
Jonathan Meyer finished one-for-two with a run scored, double and two
walks.
Oklahoma City RedHawks 5, Omaha Storm Chasers 2
The RedHawks rode a tie into the sixth inning Friday before
breaking ahead for the lead and eventually the win. Brett Oberholtzer (4-4)
picked up the win to even out his record after throwing the first six innings. Oberholtzer
had a nice outing, allowing just a run and three hits as he walked three and
struck out seven. Rhiner Cruz came on for the last out of the eighth and sent
all four batters he saw down in order, picking up his first save. Jonathan
Villar (2X4 2RBI SO) and Brandon Laird (2X4 R 2B RBI BB) were productive at the
plate Friday for Oklahoma City, combining to bat in three of their five runs.
Villar also stole second twice in the game; he now has 19 swiped bags on the
season.
Player of the Day: Villar gets the honors today because he
played hard yesterday. The two bags he swiped yesterday were enough to push him
into the lead in the Pacific Coast League in that category (he already led OKC).
Hard work always pays off, boys and girls.
Pitcher of the Day: What a pickle picking today's honor is. There's
the six no-hit innings by Quad Cities, Martinez and Folty combining for a
two-hit shutout in Corpus, even Rhiner earned his first save. It was definitely
a day full of great pitching and all those guys are worthy of accolades. I'm
going to go the tough luck route though and give the honors today to Luis Cruz.
Here's a guy that was down seven runs when he entered in the fifth and was absolutely unfazed. Cruz stepped onto the rubber and into the zone, retiring the first ten
batters he saw in order. To put it simply, that's tough personified. Well done,
Cruz.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Astros Minor League Recaps
Wednesday's Games
Oklahoma City over Tacoma 7-6 n 10 innings
There's nothing quite like going in to the bottom of the ninth inning down 6-0 and scoring six runs with two outs to tie up the game and force extra innings! That's why we love baseball. Anything is possible. Brad Peacock got his first start at OKC, allowing four runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Eric Berger gave up the fifth Tacoma run on a solo homer before giving way to a scoreless inning from C.J. Fick. Jason Stoffel pitched the final two (3H 1R 1SO) and got the "W" in extras after the late comeback kept OKC in the game. And about that comeback. After managing only three walks and three singles in the first eight and two-thirds, the RedHawks got to work. A Marc Krauss (2x3 2BB) single was followed by a Jason Jaramillo RBI double and walks from Andy Simunic (2x4 BB SB) and Che-Hsuan Lin. A Cody Clark single scored Jaramillo and re-loaded the bases so that Jonathan Villar could hit a Grand Slam. All in a day's work. Brandon Laird scored the winning run in the tenth on a throwing error.
Corpus Christi - Off Day
Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 7-2 in 7 innings
The game was tied 1-1 until a big fifth inning chased starter Luis Cruz from the game (4.1IP 4H 5R 3BB 3SO 2HR). Two of Cruz' runs scored under reliever Jonas Dufek's watch and Dufek allowed two more unearned runs of his own before all was said and done. The JetHawks got on the board in the third on an RBI single from Andrew Aplin scoring M.P. Cokinos (2x3 2-2B). The only other run came via a solo home run from Preston Tucker in the bottom of the seventh. It was Tucker's sixth of the season.
Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 4-2 in 7 innings
This is the one that hurt. Losing three in a row from the last place team caused Lancaster to fall out of first place for the first time since April 7th. Starter Tommy Shirley (4.1IP 7H 3R 1BB 3SO) collected his third loss of the season. Travis Ballew was charged with the final Lake Elsinore run in his one and two-thirds innings of work before giving way to a perfect frame from Kenny Long. Lake Elsinore scored a couple early but Lancaster was able to tie it up in the bottom of the fourth on a Preston Tucker (2x3) RBI single scoring Tyler Heineman and a Matt Duffy (1x2 2B) bases-loaded hit by pitch. The JetHawks' bats remained mostly silent the rest of the way, though, as they only mustered a total of five hits and one walk in the game.
Quad Cities over Cedar Rapids 4-2
Brian Holmes got the start for Quad Cities and allowed three hits and three walks while striking out eight in four and two-thirds scoreless innings. Michael Dimock came on with men on the corners to get the final out of the fifth. Jordan Jankowski (2.1IP 2H 1R 3SO 1HR) earned his first win of the season as the second half starter. Mitch Lambson got two quick outs in the eighth and John Neely allowed one unearned run as he converted his sixth save of the season. The River Bandits drew first blood in the first inning as Austin Elkins drove in Brian Blasik (3x4 2B) with an RBI single and were quiet until a solo home run from Teoscar Hernandez in the fifth gave them a 2-0 lead. They played add on with one more in each of the next two innings. Quad Cities has consistently trailed the first place Cedar Rapids team by three games over the last couple of weeks. This win was very welcome as Quad Cities now trails the first place team by only two games.
Player of the Day: A Grand Slam to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth with two outs? Yep, Jonathan Villar, come on down!
Pitcher of the Day: Brian Holmes gets the nod for his four and two-thirds scoreless frames and his eight strikeouts against the first place team. Very impressive.
Oklahoma City over Tacoma 7-6 n 10 innings
There's nothing quite like going in to the bottom of the ninth inning down 6-0 and scoring six runs with two outs to tie up the game and force extra innings! That's why we love baseball. Anything is possible. Brad Peacock got his first start at OKC, allowing four runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Eric Berger gave up the fifth Tacoma run on a solo homer before giving way to a scoreless inning from C.J. Fick. Jason Stoffel pitched the final two (3H 1R 1SO) and got the "W" in extras after the late comeback kept OKC in the game. And about that comeback. After managing only three walks and three singles in the first eight and two-thirds, the RedHawks got to work. A Marc Krauss (2x3 2BB) single was followed by a Jason Jaramillo RBI double and walks from Andy Simunic (2x4 BB SB) and Che-Hsuan Lin. A Cody Clark single scored Jaramillo and re-loaded the bases so that Jonathan Villar could hit a Grand Slam. All in a day's work. Brandon Laird scored the winning run in the tenth on a throwing error.
Corpus Christi - Off Day
Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 7-2 in 7 innings
The game was tied 1-1 until a big fifth inning chased starter Luis Cruz from the game (4.1IP 4H 5R 3BB 3SO 2HR). Two of Cruz' runs scored under reliever Jonas Dufek's watch and Dufek allowed two more unearned runs of his own before all was said and done. The JetHawks got on the board in the third on an RBI single from Andrew Aplin scoring M.P. Cokinos (2x3 2-2B). The only other run came via a solo home run from Preston Tucker in the bottom of the seventh. It was Tucker's sixth of the season.
Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 4-2 in 7 innings
This is the one that hurt. Losing three in a row from the last place team caused Lancaster to fall out of first place for the first time since April 7th. Starter Tommy Shirley (4.1IP 7H 3R 1BB 3SO) collected his third loss of the season. Travis Ballew was charged with the final Lake Elsinore run in his one and two-thirds innings of work before giving way to a perfect frame from Kenny Long. Lake Elsinore scored a couple early but Lancaster was able to tie it up in the bottom of the fourth on a Preston Tucker (2x3) RBI single scoring Tyler Heineman and a Matt Duffy (1x2 2B) bases-loaded hit by pitch. The JetHawks' bats remained mostly silent the rest of the way, though, as they only mustered a total of five hits and one walk in the game.
Quad Cities over Cedar Rapids 4-2
Brian Holmes got the start for Quad Cities and allowed three hits and three walks while striking out eight in four and two-thirds scoreless innings. Michael Dimock came on with men on the corners to get the final out of the fifth. Jordan Jankowski (2.1IP 2H 1R 3SO 1HR) earned his first win of the season as the second half starter. Mitch Lambson got two quick outs in the eighth and John Neely allowed one unearned run as he converted his sixth save of the season. The River Bandits drew first blood in the first inning as Austin Elkins drove in Brian Blasik (3x4 2B) with an RBI single and were quiet until a solo home run from Teoscar Hernandez in the fifth gave them a 2-0 lead. They played add on with one more in each of the next two innings. Quad Cities has consistently trailed the first place Cedar Rapids team by three games over the last couple of weeks. This win was very welcome as Quad Cities now trails the first place team by only two games.
Player of the Day: A Grand Slam to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth with two outs? Yep, Jonathan Villar, come on down!
Pitcher of the Day: Brian Holmes gets the nod for his four and two-thirds scoreless frames and his eight strikeouts against the first place team. Very impressive.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Astros Minor League Recaps
Thursday's Games
Oklahoma City over Nashville 9-1
Oklahoma City extended its winning streak to seven games with some great pitching and ridiculous offensive output from birthday boy Jonathan Villar. Asher Wojciechowski didn't waste any time getting his feet wet at AAA, pitching four innings and allowing one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He was followed by a scoreless inning from C.J. (Don't Call Me Chuckie) Fick and perfect outings from Jason Stoffel (1IP), Josh Zeid (2IP 3SO) and Jose (Don't Call Me Juan) Valdez (1IP). Jonathan Villar got things started offensively by driving in two with a double in the fourth. He then promptly stole a base and scored on a balk. The fifth inning featured back-to-back triples from Jake Elmore and Jimmy Paredes (3x4 RBI R). In the sixth, it was back to the Jonathan Villar show with a solo home run. Then in the seventh, Villar shared the glory with Carlos Perez (2x3 BB) as they each drove in two runs via singles. Brett Wallace was one-for-three with a walk and scored twice. Marc Krauss also scored twice and walked thrice.
Corpus Christi over Midland 6-1
David Martinez got his third win of the season as he pitched five scoreless innings. His ERA currently stands at 0.98. Jorge de Leon pitched the final four and allowed one run on three hits and two walks. The scoring got started up right off the bat in the first as lead-off man Austin Wates' hit by pitch blossomed into a steal of home, part of a double steal with George Springer. Domingo Santana (1x2 2BB) singled in Springer and then Max Stassi paid it forward by driving in Springer on a two-run home run in his first game of the season. The Hooks added on two more in the fourth on a Springer RBI single and a J.D. Martinez ground out that brought in Austin Wates (2x3 BB 2R 2SB).
Lancaster over Inland Empire 5-4
Brady Rodgers put up five very strong innings (1H 1R/0ER 1BB 2SO 11GO) and was followed by tandem partner Chris Devenski who was charged with three runs in the eighth. Those runs turned a 5-1 lead into a too-close-for-comfort 5-4 squeaker. Travis Ballew allowed one of Devenski's runners across, but then settled in nicely to convert his fourth save of the season. Delino DeShields (0x3 2BB 2R) scored on an Andrew Aplin double play in the first and Preston Tucker (2x3 2B BB SB) scored on a Tyler Heineman sac fly in the second. In the fifth, DeShields scored for the second time of the game (both after drawing lead-off walks), advancing to second on a wild pitch and then scoring from second on a single from Nolan Fontana (2x5). Fontana in turn scored on a Matt Duffy ground out. The final run, which came across in the top of the eighth and proved to be the game winner, came from a Heineman double followed by an M.P. Cokinos RBI single. Cokinos is now on a 10-game hitting streak. This was a more impressive win to me than one where the 'Hawks hit a bunch of long balls. They scraped together these runs with a good team effort. As a side note, Telvin Nash drew another walk last night. He has seven walks to nine strikeouts, a very encouraging stat. He also stole his first base of the season.
South Bend over Quad Cities 6-4
Quad Cities has dropped the first two of the series at South Bend. The Bandits got in an early hole as starter Mike Hauschild allowed three runs (two earned) in the first inning, and another in the fourth. After a perfect frame from Mitch Lambson, Colton Cain then pitched two scoreless innings before hitting a wall in the eighth inning. Cain allowed one run without recording an out and John Neely allowed one of Cain's runners to score, giving South Bend the lead in what had been a tied game. The Bandits scored in the first on a Ryan Dineen (1x1 4BB) bases loaded walk and in the third on a Jesse Wierzbicki (2x3 BB 2R) solo home run. They added on two more in the seventh with RBI singles from Ryan Dineen and Jobduan Morales. The team drew 11 walks, including two from Joe Sclafani and two from Roberto Pena.
Player of the Day: Jonathan Villar celebrated his 22nd in style. He went four-for-four with a double, a home run, five RBI and a stolen base. He also scored three runs. I have doubted Villar in the past, but if he keeps this up, I will happily eat crow and admit I was wrong.
Pitcher of the Day: It's a tie. David Martinez has pitched impressively for Corpus Christi. He is now 3-0 with a 0.98 ERA and a 0.904 WHIP. Brady Rodgers only allowed one hit in his outing and had an eye-popping 11 ground outs in his five innings. Nicely done, gentlemen.
Oklahoma City over Nashville 9-1
Oklahoma City extended its winning streak to seven games with some great pitching and ridiculous offensive output from birthday boy Jonathan Villar. Asher Wojciechowski didn't waste any time getting his feet wet at AAA, pitching four innings and allowing one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He was followed by a scoreless inning from C.J. (Don't Call Me Chuckie) Fick and perfect outings from Jason Stoffel (1IP), Josh Zeid (2IP 3SO) and Jose (Don't Call Me Juan) Valdez (1IP). Jonathan Villar got things started offensively by driving in two with a double in the fourth. He then promptly stole a base and scored on a balk. The fifth inning featured back-to-back triples from Jake Elmore and Jimmy Paredes (3x4 RBI R). In the sixth, it was back to the Jonathan Villar show with a solo home run. Then in the seventh, Villar shared the glory with Carlos Perez (2x3 BB) as they each drove in two runs via singles. Brett Wallace was one-for-three with a walk and scored twice. Marc Krauss also scored twice and walked thrice.
Corpus Christi over Midland 6-1
David Martinez got his third win of the season as he pitched five scoreless innings. His ERA currently stands at 0.98. Jorge de Leon pitched the final four and allowed one run on three hits and two walks. The scoring got started up right off the bat in the first as lead-off man Austin Wates' hit by pitch blossomed into a steal of home, part of a double steal with George Springer. Domingo Santana (1x2 2BB) singled in Springer and then Max Stassi paid it forward by driving in Springer on a two-run home run in his first game of the season. The Hooks added on two more in the fourth on a Springer RBI single and a J.D. Martinez ground out that brought in Austin Wates (2x3 BB 2R 2SB).
Lancaster over Inland Empire 5-4
Brady Rodgers put up five very strong innings (1H 1R/0ER 1BB 2SO 11GO) and was followed by tandem partner Chris Devenski who was charged with three runs in the eighth. Those runs turned a 5-1 lead into a too-close-for-comfort 5-4 squeaker. Travis Ballew allowed one of Devenski's runners across, but then settled in nicely to convert his fourth save of the season. Delino DeShields (0x3 2BB 2R) scored on an Andrew Aplin double play in the first and Preston Tucker (2x3 2B BB SB) scored on a Tyler Heineman sac fly in the second. In the fifth, DeShields scored for the second time of the game (both after drawing lead-off walks), advancing to second on a wild pitch and then scoring from second on a single from Nolan Fontana (2x5). Fontana in turn scored on a Matt Duffy ground out. The final run, which came across in the top of the eighth and proved to be the game winner, came from a Heineman double followed by an M.P. Cokinos RBI single. Cokinos is now on a 10-game hitting streak. This was a more impressive win to me than one where the 'Hawks hit a bunch of long balls. They scraped together these runs with a good team effort. As a side note, Telvin Nash drew another walk last night. He has seven walks to nine strikeouts, a very encouraging stat. He also stole his first base of the season.
South Bend over Quad Cities 6-4
Quad Cities has dropped the first two of the series at South Bend. The Bandits got in an early hole as starter Mike Hauschild allowed three runs (two earned) in the first inning, and another in the fourth. After a perfect frame from Mitch Lambson, Colton Cain then pitched two scoreless innings before hitting a wall in the eighth inning. Cain allowed one run without recording an out and John Neely allowed one of Cain's runners to score, giving South Bend the lead in what had been a tied game. The Bandits scored in the first on a Ryan Dineen (1x1 4BB) bases loaded walk and in the third on a Jesse Wierzbicki (2x3 BB 2R) solo home run. They added on two more in the seventh with RBI singles from Ryan Dineen and Jobduan Morales. The team drew 11 walks, including two from Joe Sclafani and two from Roberto Pena.
Player of the Day: Jonathan Villar celebrated his 22nd in style. He went four-for-four with a double, a home run, five RBI and a stolen base. He also scored three runs. I have doubted Villar in the past, but if he keeps this up, I will happily eat crow and admit I was wrong.
Pitcher of the Day: It's a tie. David Martinez has pitched impressively for Corpus Christi. He is now 3-0 with a 0.98 ERA and a 0.904 WHIP. Brady Rodgers only allowed one hit in his outing and had an eye-popping 11 ground outs in his five innings. Nicely done, gentlemen.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Happy Birthday - 5/2
Happy Birthday to ~
SS Jonathan Villar (22)
Widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the Astros organization, Villar came to Houston as a part of the Oswalt trade in 2010. His bat was coming around last season in Corpus when he broke his hand and was shut down for much of the latter portion of the 2012 season. This year, at Oklahoma City, he is off to a good start, hitting .287/.333/.436. Over the last 10, he has hit .395/.435/.605.
SS Jonathan Villar (22)
Widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the Astros organization, Villar came to Houston as a part of the Oswalt trade in 2010. His bat was coming around last season in Corpus when he broke his hand and was shut down for much of the latter portion of the 2012 season. This year, at Oklahoma City, he is off to a good start, hitting .287/.333/.436. Over the last 10, he has hit .395/.435/.605.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
This is Going to be a Very Big Year for ...
Over the last couple of weeks, I've talked to John Manuel of Baseball America, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and others about many of the players in the Astros farm system, both prospect and non-prospect alike. One phrase kept coming up time and time again. "This is going to be a big year for (fill-in-the-blank)." I found myself saying it as well.
With the Astros depth increasing, players will need to step up to keep up. For some, it may be a matter of staying healthy. For some, it will be recapturing earlier promise. For some, it will be taking that next step developmentally. Here are just a few position players for whom THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIG YEAR.
1B/DH Chase Davidson
Davidson turned 23 in January and has only played 53 games professionally to date. Davidson was originally drafted in the third round by the Astros in 2008 but did not sign; they re-drafted him in 2011 in the 41st round. In his first season, he hit .327/.417/.630 with 13 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 44 RBI in 44 games. He also struck out 53 times. In 2012, he only appeared in nine games with Tri-City in June before disappearing off the radar for the remainder of the year. At 23, he will need to get healthy, stay healthy and move quickly through the system before time starts working against him.
SS Jonathan Villar
Yes, Villar has all of the tools but he has yet to put them all together consistently. He needs to show more focus defensively. He has a tendency to speed up the game and make mental errors in the field. Prior to breaking his hand in July, Villar's bat did show signs of coming around but he lost valuable developmental time. Villar won't turn 22 until May so he still has plenty of time to put it all together, but if he doesn't take that next step forward, he could find himself jockeying for position in the Astros depth charts.
SS Jio Mier
Speaking of which, Jio Mier could be the one to challenge Villar, but he has to stay healthy and he has to continue the progress he made last season (before a bad hamstring injury) and later in the Arizona Fall League. He missed a large chunk of the 2012 season due to the injury, but it appeared that he was finally putting things together at the plate, hitting .292/.396/.409 at Lancaster and .297/.333/.422 in the Arizona Fall League. If Villar falters and Mier continues his progress and stays healthy, things could get interesting. Mier won't be 23 until August. Did I mention that he really needs to stay healthy?
C/OF Mike Kvasnicka
I'm not even sure where to start with Kvasnicka. His development seems to have been stunted by his moves from catcher to third base back to catcher and now, apparently, to right field. Kvasnicka had a horrible start to his 2012 season, but seemed to have gotten into a groove at the plate about the time he was moved to right field. He also found his home run stroke, tripling his home run output from prior years. But the fact remains that he is 24 years old and hasn't gotten above Low A yet. He will need to come to Spring Training prepared to show that he belongs and will need to contribute immediately wherever he is placed.
1B/DH Telvin Nash
Telvin Nash just turned 22 last month. He needs to do two things. He needs to replicate his home run power outside the hitter-friendly confines of Lancaster and he needs to cut down on the strikeouts. If Nash is promoted to AA this season, I think he will find that the more advanced pitchers will take advantage of the holes in his swing. He will have to find a way to adjust. The recent news that Nash lost 30 pounds during the offseason tells me that he is highly motivated. That is encouraging.
Next week I'll look at a few pitchers for whom THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY BIG YEAR.
With the Astros depth increasing, players will need to step up to keep up. For some, it may be a matter of staying healthy. For some, it will be recapturing earlier promise. For some, it will be taking that next step developmentally. Here are just a few position players for whom THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIG YEAR.
1B/DH Chase Davidson
Davidson turned 23 in January and has only played 53 games professionally to date. Davidson was originally drafted in the third round by the Astros in 2008 but did not sign; they re-drafted him in 2011 in the 41st round. In his first season, he hit .327/.417/.630 with 13 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 44 RBI in 44 games. He also struck out 53 times. In 2012, he only appeared in nine games with Tri-City in June before disappearing off the radar for the remainder of the year. At 23, he will need to get healthy, stay healthy and move quickly through the system before time starts working against him.
SS Jonathan Villar
Yes, Villar has all of the tools but he has yet to put them all together consistently. He needs to show more focus defensively. He has a tendency to speed up the game and make mental errors in the field. Prior to breaking his hand in July, Villar's bat did show signs of coming around but he lost valuable developmental time. Villar won't turn 22 until May so he still has plenty of time to put it all together, but if he doesn't take that next step forward, he could find himself jockeying for position in the Astros depth charts.
SS Jio Mier
Speaking of which, Jio Mier could be the one to challenge Villar, but he has to stay healthy and he has to continue the progress he made last season (before a bad hamstring injury) and later in the Arizona Fall League. He missed a large chunk of the 2012 season due to the injury, but it appeared that he was finally putting things together at the plate, hitting .292/.396/.409 at Lancaster and .297/.333/.422 in the Arizona Fall League. If Villar falters and Mier continues his progress and stays healthy, things could get interesting. Mier won't be 23 until August. Did I mention that he really needs to stay healthy?
C/OF Mike Kvasnicka
I'm not even sure where to start with Kvasnicka. His development seems to have been stunted by his moves from catcher to third base back to catcher and now, apparently, to right field. Kvasnicka had a horrible start to his 2012 season, but seemed to have gotten into a groove at the plate about the time he was moved to right field. He also found his home run stroke, tripling his home run output from prior years. But the fact remains that he is 24 years old and hasn't gotten above Low A yet. He will need to come to Spring Training prepared to show that he belongs and will need to contribute immediately wherever he is placed.
1B/DH Telvin Nash
Telvin Nash just turned 22 last month. He needs to do two things. He needs to replicate his home run power outside the hitter-friendly confines of Lancaster and he needs to cut down on the strikeouts. If Nash is promoted to AA this season, I think he will find that the more advanced pitchers will take advantage of the holes in his swing. He will have to find a way to adjust. The recent news that Nash lost 30 pounds during the offseason tells me that he is highly motivated. That is encouraging.
Next week I'll look at a few pitchers for whom THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY BIG YEAR.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Talking Astros Prospects with John Manuel of Baseball America
Last week I caught up with John Manuel of Baseball America by phone to talk about the recently released Baseball America 2013 Prospect Handbook
. Our conversation was wide-ranging as he helped me fill in the holes in my knowledge of several players, prospects and non-prospects alike. But there were four players who were the focus of much of our conversation.
Earlier this month, I posted a consensus Astros top prospect list which averaged rankings from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and John Sickels of Minor League Ball (SBNation). One thing that stood out from that list was the complete agreement on eight of the top ten prospects:
SS Carlos Correa
1B Jonathan Singleton
OF George Springer
RHP Lance McCullers
RHP Mike Foltynewicz
2B Delino DeShields
RHP Jarred Cosart
3B Rio Ruiz
All five sources ranked these eight individuals in their Top 10 list without exception. After that the lists started to diverge. And not surprisingly, that divergence proved to be the focus of my discussion with Manuel. The next four prospects as ranked by Baseball America were:
RHP Nick Tropeano
SS Nolan Fontana
OF Domingo Santana
SS Jonathan Villar
We embarked on our discussion of these four players when I commented on his projected 2016 line-up. He showed Tropeano as the fifth starter and I remarked that a rotation with Tropeano as the fifth starter would be a very strong rotation in my opinion. Manuel isn't sold on Tropeano's breaking ball, but admits that he's a sucker for Trope, "I probably shouldn't be as high on him as I am, but the change-up, the body, the increased velocity ... he's got a little moxie. Tropeano has a starter's mentality, a starter's makeup."
Manuel admitted that one could have ranked Tropeano, Fontana, Santana and Villar in any order, but ultimately it came down to ranking the lower risk players (Tropeano and Fontana) over the higher ceiling players (Santana and Villar), "That Top 12 is a very stout Top 12, but the guys at nine and ten - Tropeano and Fontana - are much safer bets than the guys at 11 and 12 so that's why they made the Top 10."
Fontana was the hardest of the four for Manuel to grade and slot into the rankings, but ultimately Manuel noted, "I happen to think that Nolan Fontana will be the safest college player in the draft. I have zero doubt that he'll be a big league player. I should probably have some doubt because he only hit .225 but the .464 on-base mattered a lot more. Sure hands, all those kind of things."
Of Santana, Manuel says, "My biggest question is his feel for hitting and his athleticism." He is somewhat concerned about Santana's strikeout rate and wonders if playing in hitter-friendly Lancaster has skewed his numbers, but admits that Santana's ceiling is high. "He looks the way you want a right-fielder to look. If he had grown up in the U.S., he'd probably be an outside linebacker or a defensive lineman or maybe an offensive lineman because he's mammoth." But what it may very well come down to, according to Manuel, is whether or not Santana proves to have the athleticism as a right-handed hitter "to see right-handed breaking balls and respond to them and lay off of them or hit them."
We also discussed Jonathan Villar at length, mainly because of my personal concerns about Villar based on his level of development thus far. Manuel certainly understood my skepticism, "You'd like to see him be adding a little more polish considering his experience level now. I think the reason we're skeptical is there's a lot of swing and miss there. He hasn't really toned that down too much. His strikeout rate was a little bit better last year in terms of Double A than it was the first year."
But Manuel also knows that it depends greatly to whom you talk about Villar, "Some of the guys who saw him right before he got hurt thought he was turning the corner, thought he was making more consistent contact and [were] liking his swing better. The reason I dropped him from four [in 2012] to 12 [this year] was my increased skepticism in the bat." Manuel knows that the Astros front office would disagree. There is "no question" that the Astros consider Villar a Top 10 prospect.
Manuel went on to say, "The tools are pretty outstanding in every other way. He can help a team without being even an average offensive player. He has better defensive tools than anyone else on the 40-man roster who's an infielder. Better quickness, quick feet, arm strength, range to both sides." His defense can be erratic due to his tendency to speed up the game too much, but Manuel doesn't seem too concerned with that aspect of Villar's game.
When all is said and done, it is encouraging that the Astros system depth has grown to the point that experts are having trouble squeezing all of the talented lower risk and higher ceiling prospects into the Top 10. That is a problem that I can live with. I would encourage anyone interested in minor league prospects to buy a copy of the Baseball America 2013 Prospect Handbook which includes organization overviews and rankings, as well as the Top 30 prospects for each organization, complete with scouting reports.
. Our conversation was wide-ranging as he helped me fill in the holes in my knowledge of several players, prospects and non-prospects alike. But there were four players who were the focus of much of our conversation.Earlier this month, I posted a consensus Astros top prospect list which averaged rankings from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and John Sickels of Minor League Ball (SBNation). One thing that stood out from that list was the complete agreement on eight of the top ten prospects:
SS Carlos Correa
1B Jonathan Singleton
OF George Springer
RHP Lance McCullers
RHP Mike Foltynewicz
2B Delino DeShields
RHP Jarred Cosart
3B Rio Ruiz
All five sources ranked these eight individuals in their Top 10 list without exception. After that the lists started to diverge. And not surprisingly, that divergence proved to be the focus of my discussion with Manuel. The next four prospects as ranked by Baseball America were:
RHP Nick Tropeano
SS Nolan Fontana
OF Domingo Santana
SS Jonathan Villar
We embarked on our discussion of these four players when I commented on his projected 2016 line-up. He showed Tropeano as the fifth starter and I remarked that a rotation with Tropeano as the fifth starter would be a very strong rotation in my opinion. Manuel isn't sold on Tropeano's breaking ball, but admits that he's a sucker for Trope, "I probably shouldn't be as high on him as I am, but the change-up, the body, the increased velocity ... he's got a little moxie. Tropeano has a starter's mentality, a starter's makeup."
Nick Tropeano - Lancaster August 2012
Photo by Jayne Hansen
Manuel admitted that one could have ranked Tropeano, Fontana, Santana and Villar in any order, but ultimately it came down to ranking the lower risk players (Tropeano and Fontana) over the higher ceiling players (Santana and Villar), "That Top 12 is a very stout Top 12, but the guys at nine and ten - Tropeano and Fontana - are much safer bets than the guys at 11 and 12 so that's why they made the Top 10."
Fontana was the hardest of the four for Manuel to grade and slot into the rankings, but ultimately Manuel noted, "I happen to think that Nolan Fontana will be the safest college player in the draft. I have zero doubt that he'll be a big league player. I should probably have some doubt because he only hit .225 but the .464 on-base mattered a lot more. Sure hands, all those kind of things."
Of Santana, Manuel says, "My biggest question is his feel for hitting and his athleticism." He is somewhat concerned about Santana's strikeout rate and wonders if playing in hitter-friendly Lancaster has skewed his numbers, but admits that Santana's ceiling is high. "He looks the way you want a right-fielder to look. If he had grown up in the U.S., he'd probably be an outside linebacker or a defensive lineman or maybe an offensive lineman because he's mammoth." But what it may very well come down to, according to Manuel, is whether or not Santana proves to have the athleticism as a right-handed hitter "to see right-handed breaking balls and respond to them and lay off of them or hit them."
We also discussed Jonathan Villar at length, mainly because of my personal concerns about Villar based on his level of development thus far. Manuel certainly understood my skepticism, "You'd like to see him be adding a little more polish considering his experience level now. I think the reason we're skeptical is there's a lot of swing and miss there. He hasn't really toned that down too much. His strikeout rate was a little bit better last year in terms of Double A than it was the first year."
But Manuel also knows that it depends greatly to whom you talk about Villar, "Some of the guys who saw him right before he got hurt thought he was turning the corner, thought he was making more consistent contact and [were] liking his swing better. The reason I dropped him from four [in 2012] to 12 [this year] was my increased skepticism in the bat." Manuel knows that the Astros front office would disagree. There is "no question" that the Astros consider Villar a Top 10 prospect.
Manuel went on to say, "The tools are pretty outstanding in every other way. He can help a team without being even an average offensive player. He has better defensive tools than anyone else on the 40-man roster who's an infielder. Better quickness, quick feet, arm strength, range to both sides." His defense can be erratic due to his tendency to speed up the game too much, but Manuel doesn't seem too concerned with that aspect of Villar's game.
When all is said and done, it is encouraging that the Astros system depth has grown to the point that experts are having trouble squeezing all of the talented lower risk and higher ceiling prospects into the Top 10. That is a problem that I can live with. I would encourage anyone interested in minor league prospects to buy a copy of the Baseball America 2013 Prospect Handbook
which includes organization overviews and rankings, as well as the Top 30 prospects for each organization, complete with scouting reports.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Astros Minor League Depth - Shortstop
Over the next few weeks as we approach Spring Training, I'll be looking at the Astros minor league depth, position by position. Today, we look at the shortstops in the organization who had the best seasons in 2012.
Nolan Fontana leapfrogged rookie league and short season A ball in his first season and went directly to playing for the full season Lexington club where he led the organization in OBP thanks to 65 walks in only 49 games. He will ultimately have to show more aggressiveness at the plate, but it was a solid first season by any measure. Jake Elmore and Ben Orloff also showed very patient approaches at the plate. Both players drew walks more often than they struck out in 2012.
Carlos Correa had an uneven season thanks to a slow start with the GCL team. However, once he got to Greeneville, he turned on the afterburners and hit .371/.450/.600 in his final 11 games and exhibited stellar defensive capabilities. Another young player to watch is Luis Reynoso. Reynoso was one of the few bright spots offensively on the DSL team in 2012. He just turned 18 in September as did Correa.
Jonathan Villar was having a good season offensively and appeared to be catching up to AA pitching when his fist came out on the losing side after an unfortunate encounter with a door. The tools are there, but he still has a ways to go, both offensively and defensively. But one thing he has a very good feel for is the stolen base. He swiped 39 bags in 86 games and was caught only eight times. Another player exhibiting some wheels was Joe Sclafani. In his first season in the organization he stole 16 bases in 70 games and was caught three times.
Jiovanni Mier was having a great comeback season when injury put a large dent in his season. He came back strong after the injury, though, and continued his progress with a very successful Arizona Fall League season. Alex Todd was one of the players to fill in for Mier; he put up good numbers at Lancaster after starting the season in Lexington. [UPDATE: After posting this, I found out that Alex Todd retired from baseball during the off-season.]
Monday: First Base
Tuesday: Second Base
Coming Thursday: Third Base
The embedded chart shows shortstops in the organization ranked from high to low in terms of OBP. I have noted their current age, the last level at which they played and, if they spent significant time at multiple positions, that information is included as well. I am including Jake Elmore's minor league numbers since he is new to the system so that you can see how his 2012 minor league numbers compare.
Nolan Fontana leapfrogged rookie league and short season A ball in his first season and went directly to playing for the full season Lexington club where he led the organization in OBP thanks to 65 walks in only 49 games. He will ultimately have to show more aggressiveness at the plate, but it was a solid first season by any measure. Jake Elmore and Ben Orloff also showed very patient approaches at the plate. Both players drew walks more often than they struck out in 2012.
Carlos Correa had an uneven season thanks to a slow start with the GCL team. However, once he got to Greeneville, he turned on the afterburners and hit .371/.450/.600 in his final 11 games and exhibited stellar defensive capabilities. Another young player to watch is Luis Reynoso. Reynoso was one of the few bright spots offensively on the DSL team in 2012. He just turned 18 in September as did Correa.
Jonathan Villar was having a good season offensively and appeared to be catching up to AA pitching when his fist came out on the losing side after an unfortunate encounter with a door. The tools are there, but he still has a ways to go, both offensively and defensively. But one thing he has a very good feel for is the stolen base. He swiped 39 bags in 86 games and was caught only eight times. Another player exhibiting some wheels was Joe Sclafani. In his first season in the organization he stole 16 bases in 70 games and was caught three times.
Jiovanni Mier was having a great comeback season when injury put a large dent in his season. He came back strong after the injury, though, and continued his progress with a very successful Arizona Fall League season. Alex Todd was one of the players to fill in for Mier; he put up good numbers at Lancaster after starting the season in Lexington. [UPDATE: After posting this, I found out that Alex Todd retired from baseball during the off-season.]
Monday: First Base
Tuesday: Second Base
Coming Thursday: Third Base
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Roster Moves
Corpus Christi
OF Adam Bailey was placed on the 7-day DL.
SS Jonathan Villar was activated from the 7-day DL.
OF Adam Bailey was placed on the 7-day DL.
SS Jonathan Villar was activated from the 7-day DL.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Roster Moves - 7/14
Oklahoma City
According to Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller times, C Jay Fernandez has been assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.
Corpus Christi
Also according to Greg Rajan, C Rene Garcia has been assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.
SS Jonathan Villar will be placed on the DL after breaking his hand, but that move hasn't been made official yet.
[UPDATED TO ADD] An UNCONFIRMED report has SS Ben Orloff going from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.
Lancaster
An UNCONFIRMED rumor has SS Chan Moon going to Lancaster from Lexington.
With the injury to Villar, last night's injury to Jed Lowrie in the San Francisco game and possible time off needed for Jason Castro, who has been experiencing pain in his surgically repaired knee, look for more roster moves to come. I will update when information becomes available.
According to Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller times, C Jay Fernandez has been assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.
Corpus Christi
Also according to Greg Rajan, C Rene Garcia has been assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.
SS Jonathan Villar will be placed on the DL after breaking his hand, but that move hasn't been made official yet.
[UPDATED TO ADD] An UNCONFIRMED report has SS Ben Orloff going from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.
Lancaster
An UNCONFIRMED rumor has SS Chan Moon going to Lancaster from Lexington.
With the injury to Villar, last night's injury to Jed Lowrie in the San Francisco game and possible time off needed for Jason Castro, who has been experiencing pain in his surgically repaired knee, look for more roster moves to come. I will update when information becomes available.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Minor League Schedule and Results
TUESDAY'S GAMES
DSL Astros at DSL Cardinals at 9:30 a.m. CST
Lexington at Lakewood at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Luis Cruz (5-1, 2.84) and LHP Ethan Stewart (0-6, 4.21)
Iowa at Oklahoma City at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Frankie de la Cruz (1-1, 2.78) and LHP Wes Musick (1-1, 4.08)
Available on MiLB.tv
San Jose at Lancaster at 9:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Ryan Bradley (3-3, 3.41) and RHP David Martinez (1-3, 6.02)
Corpus Christi - Off Day
MONDAY'S RESULTS
DSL Mariners over DSL Astros 13-5
The Astros used five pitchers (which is fairly standard as these young players get acclimated) with widely mixed results. Juan Delis (one run over three innings) and Frangy Colon (no hits, three strikeouts over one inning) had good outings; Juan Hernandez (four runs over two innings) and Yonquelys Martinez (two runs over two innings) had not-so-good outings; and Rayderson Chevalier had a spectacularly bad outing, giving up six runs on five hits and a walk without recording an out. Frederick Serrano hit a two run double. Yoel Silfa and Luis Reynosa had multi-hit games.
Springfield over Corpus Christi 12-8
Starter Ross Seaton got jumped on in the first inning with five singles and a walk to surrender four runs early, then settled down for the next few innings until he was pulled in the fifth after giving up a home run and three singles for two additional runs. Kevin Chapman got the final out in the fifth to keep Corpus in the game. And they were still in the game until the bullpen imploded, allowing six more runs over the final three innings as Henry Villar (BS, 1) gave up two, Erick Abreu (L, 5-2) gave up three and John Zeid gave up the final run. The main reason they were still in the game until late was because of Jonathan Villar's grand slam in the fourth inning, one of three hits Villar had for the night. Jose Martinez had RBIs on a sac fly and a bases loaded hit by pitch.
Rancho Cucamonga over Lancaster 11-4
This was an uncharacteristically bad start for Ruben Alaniz (L, 5-2) as he gave up seven runs in the first inning alone and Lancaster never came close to coming back from that early deficit. Alaniz only made it through 4.2 innings and gave way to Pat Urckfitz after surrendering his second home run of the night. Urckfitz got touched for two runs over 2.1 innings. Brian Streilein and Brad Dydalewicz were perfect in the last two frames. George Springer hit his 11th home run of the season. Ben Orloff and Kike Hernandez had multi-hit games.
GAME OF THE DAY
Oklahoma City over Iowa 6-5
Brian Bass did not fare as well in his second start, giving up five runs (four earned) on nine hits and four walks over 5.1 innings, but he kept the team in the game. Adalberto Flores, Mickey Storey (W, 3-2) and Juan Abreu (S, 3) took it the rest of the way pitching scoreless relief. Mike Hessman hit two more home runs (making it five in the last 2 games), including one in the seventh that ultimately proved to be the winning run. Jimmy Paredes hit his fifth long ball of the season, and Angel Sanchez was three-for-four with two RBIs.
PITCHER OF THE DAY
It wasn't exactly an auspicious day for pitching. I'm going to go with the 18-year old Juan Delis who pitched three innings, giving up one run on one hit and two walks with three strikeouts in his season debut at the DSL.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
Mike Hessman may deserve it for hitting five bombs in two days, but I'm going to go with Jonathan Villar for going three-for-five with a grand slam.
DSL Astros at DSL Cardinals at 9:30 a.m. CST
Lexington at Lakewood at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Luis Cruz (5-1, 2.84) and LHP Ethan Stewart (0-6, 4.21)
Iowa at Oklahoma City at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Frankie de la Cruz (1-1, 2.78) and LHP Wes Musick (1-1, 4.08)
Available on MiLB.tv
San Jose at Lancaster at 9:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Ryan Bradley (3-3, 3.41) and RHP David Martinez (1-3, 6.02)
Corpus Christi - Off Day
MONDAY'S RESULTS
DSL Mariners over DSL Astros 13-5
The Astros used five pitchers (which is fairly standard as these young players get acclimated) with widely mixed results. Juan Delis (one run over three innings) and Frangy Colon (no hits, three strikeouts over one inning) had good outings; Juan Hernandez (four runs over two innings) and Yonquelys Martinez (two runs over two innings) had not-so-good outings; and Rayderson Chevalier had a spectacularly bad outing, giving up six runs on five hits and a walk without recording an out. Frederick Serrano hit a two run double. Yoel Silfa and Luis Reynosa had multi-hit games.
Springfield over Corpus Christi 12-8
Starter Ross Seaton got jumped on in the first inning with five singles and a walk to surrender four runs early, then settled down for the next few innings until he was pulled in the fifth after giving up a home run and three singles for two additional runs. Kevin Chapman got the final out in the fifth to keep Corpus in the game. And they were still in the game until the bullpen imploded, allowing six more runs over the final three innings as Henry Villar (BS, 1) gave up two, Erick Abreu (L, 5-2) gave up three and John Zeid gave up the final run. The main reason they were still in the game until late was because of Jonathan Villar's grand slam in the fourth inning, one of three hits Villar had for the night. Jose Martinez had RBIs on a sac fly and a bases loaded hit by pitch.
Rancho Cucamonga over Lancaster 11-4
This was an uncharacteristically bad start for Ruben Alaniz (L, 5-2) as he gave up seven runs in the first inning alone and Lancaster never came close to coming back from that early deficit. Alaniz only made it through 4.2 innings and gave way to Pat Urckfitz after surrendering his second home run of the night. Urckfitz got touched for two runs over 2.1 innings. Brian Streilein and Brad Dydalewicz were perfect in the last two frames. George Springer hit his 11th home run of the season. Ben Orloff and Kike Hernandez had multi-hit games.
GAME OF THE DAY
Oklahoma City over Iowa 6-5
Brian Bass did not fare as well in his second start, giving up five runs (four earned) on nine hits and four walks over 5.1 innings, but he kept the team in the game. Adalberto Flores, Mickey Storey (W, 3-2) and Juan Abreu (S, 3) took it the rest of the way pitching scoreless relief. Mike Hessman hit two more home runs (making it five in the last 2 games), including one in the seventh that ultimately proved to be the winning run. Jimmy Paredes hit his fifth long ball of the season, and Angel Sanchez was three-for-four with two RBIs.
PITCHER OF THE DAY
It wasn't exactly an auspicious day for pitching. I'm going to go with the 18-year old Juan Delis who pitched three innings, giving up one run on one hit and two walks with three strikeouts in his season debut at the DSL.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
Mike Hessman may deserve it for hitting five bombs in two days, but I'm going to go with Jonathan Villar for going three-for-five with a grand slam.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Minor League Schedule and Results
TUESDAY'S GAMES
High Desert at Lancaster at 1:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Cameron Hobson (0-1, 11.57) and RHP Tyson Perez (3-0, 1.35)
West Virginia at Lexington at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: TBD
Available on MiLB.tv
Oklahoma City at Colorado Springs at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Paul Clemens (4-3, 5.67) and RHP Edgar Gonzalez (2-1, 4.99)
Available on MiLB.tv
MONDAY'S RESULTS
West Virginia over Lexington 4-3
Jonas Dufek pitched a solid seven innings giving up three runs with no big innings, but Murilo Gouvea gave up one run in then tied game and was charged with the loss. Zach Johnson was 2x3 with another RBI, his 47th of the season. To put things in perspective, if Johnson played in all remaining 97 games for Lexington, he is on a pace for 158 RBIs. And Delino DeShields, who stole his 28th base and scored two runs, is on a pace to steal 94 bases.
Oklahoma City over Colorado Springs 5-3
Wes Musick fared extremely well in his AAA debut as he pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Adalberto Flores pitched two innings getting a blown save and a win and Jose Valdez got the save, his tenth of the season. After four home runs in the previous game, the Redhawks won this one playing small ball as Brett Wallace contributed the only extra base hit of the evening, a double, as he went 2x4. J.B. Shuck and Jimmy Paredes were both 3x5 for the night. Paredes is now hitting .329. Fernando Martinez and Mike Hessman each had two RBIs.
High Desert over Lancaster 8-2
Starter Bobby Doran (L, 4-3) was cruising along nicely until he got to the seventh inning. With one out, one run in and two baserunners on, Doran was pulled for Andrew Robinson who allowed both of Doran's runners to score plus added two of his own for good measure before mercifully inducing a double play to end the inning. At that point the damage was done and the JetHawks' four hits were not enough to get them back in the game. DH Erik Castro hit a solo home run, his seventh of the season.
GAME OF THE DAY
Corpus Christi over Midland 5-2
What went right: Great nights for Brett Oberholtzer and Jonathan Villar.
Thanks to a great start by Brett Oberholtzer, Corpus Christi had a shutout going until the eighth inning. With two outs in the eighth inning, Kevin Chapman was pulled for Arcenio Leon after allowing a single and a walk. Leon allowed a single, hit a batter and issued a bases loaded walk without recording any outs which led to Erick Abreu coming in to get a four out save, his first save of the season. The Hooks got 11 hits and four of those belonged to Jonathan Villar. Brandon Barnes had the only extra base hit, a double.
Brett Oberholtzer (W, 2-2) - 6IP 8H 0R 1BB 9SO
Kevin Chapman - 1.2IP 1H 2R 1BB 2SO
Arcenio Leon - 0.0IP 1H 1BB
Erick Abreu (S, 1) - 1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2SO
Jonathan Villar - 4x5 RBI SO R SB
Jose Martinez - 2x4 RBI SO
Brandon Barnes - 1x4 2B SO R
What went wrong: Kody Hinze was 0x3 with a walk and three strikeouts as he continues his struggles at the plate. He is currently hitting .213 for the season.
PITCHER OF THE DAY
Brett Oberholtzer gets the nod.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
Jonathan Villar. After a 4x5 night, he now has his average up to .247 and he's hitting .333 over his last 10 games. Good to see!
High Desert at Lancaster at 1:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Cameron Hobson (0-1, 11.57) and RHP Tyson Perez (3-0, 1.35)
West Virginia at Lexington at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: TBD
Available on MiLB.tv
Oklahoma City at Colorado Springs at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Paul Clemens (4-3, 5.67) and RHP Edgar Gonzalez (2-1, 4.99)
Available on MiLB.tv
MONDAY'S RESULTS
West Virginia over Lexington 4-3
Jonas Dufek pitched a solid seven innings giving up three runs with no big innings, but Murilo Gouvea gave up one run in then tied game and was charged with the loss. Zach Johnson was 2x3 with another RBI, his 47th of the season. To put things in perspective, if Johnson played in all remaining 97 games for Lexington, he is on a pace for 158 RBIs. And Delino DeShields, who stole his 28th base and scored two runs, is on a pace to steal 94 bases.
Oklahoma City over Colorado Springs 5-3
Wes Musick fared extremely well in his AAA debut as he pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Adalberto Flores pitched two innings getting a blown save and a win and Jose Valdez got the save, his tenth of the season. After four home runs in the previous game, the Redhawks won this one playing small ball as Brett Wallace contributed the only extra base hit of the evening, a double, as he went 2x4. J.B. Shuck and Jimmy Paredes were both 3x5 for the night. Paredes is now hitting .329. Fernando Martinez and Mike Hessman each had two RBIs.
High Desert over Lancaster 8-2
Starter Bobby Doran (L, 4-3) was cruising along nicely until he got to the seventh inning. With one out, one run in and two baserunners on, Doran was pulled for Andrew Robinson who allowed both of Doran's runners to score plus added two of his own for good measure before mercifully inducing a double play to end the inning. At that point the damage was done and the JetHawks' four hits were not enough to get them back in the game. DH Erik Castro hit a solo home run, his seventh of the season.
GAME OF THE DAY
Corpus Christi over Midland 5-2
What went right: Great nights for Brett Oberholtzer and Jonathan Villar.
Thanks to a great start by Brett Oberholtzer, Corpus Christi had a shutout going until the eighth inning. With two outs in the eighth inning, Kevin Chapman was pulled for Arcenio Leon after allowing a single and a walk. Leon allowed a single, hit a batter and issued a bases loaded walk without recording any outs which led to Erick Abreu coming in to get a four out save, his first save of the season. The Hooks got 11 hits and four of those belonged to Jonathan Villar. Brandon Barnes had the only extra base hit, a double.
Brett Oberholtzer (W, 2-2) - 6IP 8H 0R 1BB 9SO
Kevin Chapman - 1.2IP 1H 2R 1BB 2SO
Arcenio Leon - 0.0IP 1H 1BB
Erick Abreu (S, 1) - 1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2SO
Jonathan Villar - 4x5 RBI SO R SB
Jose Martinez - 2x4 RBI SO
Brandon Barnes - 1x4 2B SO R
What went wrong: Kody Hinze was 0x3 with a walk and three strikeouts as he continues his struggles at the plate. He is currently hitting .213 for the season.
PITCHER OF THE DAY
Brett Oberholtzer gets the nod.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
Jonathan Villar. After a 4x5 night, he now has his average up to .247 and he's hitting .333 over his last 10 games. Good to see!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Happy Birthday - 5/2
SS Jonathan Villar (21)
Widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the Astros organization, Villar came to Houston as a part of the Oswalt trade in 2010. He has had a somewhat slow start so far this season, but has shown signs of coming around as of late. Through Tuesday's game, Villar is hitting .306/.342/.389 over the last ten games, and has 12 stolen bases so far this season.
Widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the Astros organization, Villar came to Houston as a part of the Oswalt trade in 2010. He has had a somewhat slow start so far this season, but has shown signs of coming around as of late. Through Tuesday's game, Villar is hitting .306/.342/.389 over the last ten games, and has 12 stolen bases so far this season.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Minor League Schedule and Results
SUNDAY'S GAMES
Frisco at Corpus Christi at 1:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Justin Grimm (3-0, 0.50) and RHP Jarred Cosart (0-0, 0.00)
Available on MiLB.tv
Albuquerque at Oklahoma City at 2:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Stephen Fife (1-2, 10.03) and RHP Ross Seaton* (0-2, 5.40)
Available on MiLB.tv
Lexington at Kannapolis at 4:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Luis Cruz (0-1, 4.38) and LHP Blair Walters (0-1, 2.87)
Lancaster at Lake Elsinore at 4:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Ruben Alaniz (1-0, 4.38) and RHP Matt Jackson (2-1, 1.59)
*Ross Seaton called up to OKC to make a spot start for Paul Clemens who is on the DL with back spasms.
SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Lexington over Kannapolis 7-1
Since a rocky first start on April 6th, Mike Foltynewicz has been lights out in his last three and has earned his third win as a result. Evan Grills and Tanner Bushue had strong outings from the bullpen. Zach Johnson had five RBI without hitting it out of the park, and Drew Muren and Alex Todd also had strong nights. Note: Tanner Bushue's spot in the rotation is being taken by LHP Luis Cruz (who started last season), at least for Sunday. Bushue has struggled in his first three starts and worked from the bullpen on Saturday.
Albuquerque over Oklahoma City 6-1
Aneury Rodriguez had a tough start in which he gave up six runs (five earned) and two home runs over 3.2 innings. Enerio del Rosario and Juan Abreu stopped the bleeding, but it was too late as the Redhawks were never able to get anything going offensively. Brian Bixler was the only player able to muster more than one hit and the only player with an extra base hit, a double.
Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 4-3
Lancaster has played a couple of tight ones with Lake Elsinore but has unfortunately come out on the wrong end. David Martinez (3H 3R 0BB 5SO HR) came out of the game after 3.1 innings with an injured hand. Alex Sogard pitched extremely well in 4.1 innings of relief (2H 1R/0ER 1BB 4SO) and Jorge de Leon retired his one batter. A double by Telvin Nash, a triple by George Springer and a wild pitch accounted for all of Lancaster's scoring. Domingo Santana had one walk and three strikeouts.
GAME OF THE DAY
Corpus Christi over Frisco 11-3
What went right: Winning two in a row against the division leader! Jake Buchanan got his first win and Jason Stoffel and Arcenio Leon were strong in relief. Brandon Barnes, unsurprisingly, had another good day. Jonathan Villar, somewhat surprisingly given his slow start, had a very good day as well. Add Chris Wallace's first home run of the season and a ridiculous two double, four RBI night by Andrew Simunic, and you're looking at a potent offense.
Jake Buchanan (W, 1-0) - 6IP 12H 3R 0BB 8SO 1HR
Jason Stoffel - 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1SO
Arcenio Leon - 2IP 1H 0R 0BB 2SO
Jonathan Singleton - 2x5 SO R
Brandon Barnes - 3x5 2B 2RBI 2SO 2R
Chris Wallace - 1x3 HR RBI BB 2R
Jonathan Villar - 3x4 3B 3RBI BB 2R SB
Andrew Simunic - 2x3 2-2B 4RBI SB
What went wrong: A fielding error by T.J. Steele and throwing error by Jonathan Singleton, and T.J. Steele flied out and struck out in two bases loaded opportunities.
PITCHER OF THE DAY
Mike Foltynewicz is now 3-1 with a 1.66 ERA. He didn't get his first win until May last year. It is beyond nice to see such a great start from one of our top prospects.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Jonathan Villar had a much-needed day of great offense. He has started off slowly, but a 3x4 night with three RBI will go a long way toward getting him back on track. And Andrew Simunic's two double, four RBI night is noteworthy as well. However, they will both have to take a back seat to Zach Johnson who continues to make a statement in Lexington. After a 2x4 night with a double and five RBI, he is hitting .322 and has 23 RBI which leads the Sally League.
For more information (and different perspectives), you should check out Astros County and The Crawfish Boxes for their minor league recaps.
Frisco at Corpus Christi at 1:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Justin Grimm (3-0, 0.50) and RHP Jarred Cosart (0-0, 0.00)
Available on MiLB.tv
Albuquerque at Oklahoma City at 2:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Stephen Fife (1-2, 10.03) and RHP Ross Seaton* (0-2, 5.40)
Available on MiLB.tv
Lexington at Kannapolis at 4:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Luis Cruz (0-1, 4.38) and LHP Blair Walters (0-1, 2.87)
Lancaster at Lake Elsinore at 4:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Ruben Alaniz (1-0, 4.38) and RHP Matt Jackson (2-1, 1.59)
*Ross Seaton called up to OKC to make a spot start for Paul Clemens who is on the DL with back spasms.
SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Lexington over Kannapolis 7-1
Since a rocky first start on April 6th, Mike Foltynewicz has been lights out in his last three and has earned his third win as a result. Evan Grills and Tanner Bushue had strong outings from the bullpen. Zach Johnson had five RBI without hitting it out of the park, and Drew Muren and Alex Todd also had strong nights. Note: Tanner Bushue's spot in the rotation is being taken by LHP Luis Cruz (who started last season), at least for Sunday. Bushue has struggled in his first three starts and worked from the bullpen on Saturday.
Albuquerque over Oklahoma City 6-1
Aneury Rodriguez had a tough start in which he gave up six runs (five earned) and two home runs over 3.2 innings. Enerio del Rosario and Juan Abreu stopped the bleeding, but it was too late as the Redhawks were never able to get anything going offensively. Brian Bixler was the only player able to muster more than one hit and the only player with an extra base hit, a double.
Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 4-3
Lancaster has played a couple of tight ones with Lake Elsinore but has unfortunately come out on the wrong end. David Martinez (3H 3R 0BB 5SO HR) came out of the game after 3.1 innings with an injured hand. Alex Sogard pitched extremely well in 4.1 innings of relief (2H 1R/0ER 1BB 4SO) and Jorge de Leon retired his one batter. A double by Telvin Nash, a triple by George Springer and a wild pitch accounted for all of Lancaster's scoring. Domingo Santana had one walk and three strikeouts.
GAME OF THE DAY
Corpus Christi over Frisco 11-3
What went right: Winning two in a row against the division leader! Jake Buchanan got his first win and Jason Stoffel and Arcenio Leon were strong in relief. Brandon Barnes, unsurprisingly, had another good day. Jonathan Villar, somewhat surprisingly given his slow start, had a very good day as well. Add Chris Wallace's first home run of the season and a ridiculous two double, four RBI night by Andrew Simunic, and you're looking at a potent offense.
Jake Buchanan (W, 1-0) - 6IP 12H 3R 0BB 8SO 1HR
Jason Stoffel - 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1SO
Arcenio Leon - 2IP 1H 0R 0BB 2SO
Jonathan Singleton - 2x5 SO R
Brandon Barnes - 3x5 2B 2RBI 2SO 2R
Chris Wallace - 1x3 HR RBI BB 2R
Jonathan Villar - 3x4 3B 3RBI BB 2R SB
Andrew Simunic - 2x3 2-2B 4RBI SB
What went wrong: A fielding error by T.J. Steele and throwing error by Jonathan Singleton, and T.J. Steele flied out and struck out in two bases loaded opportunities.
PITCHER OF THE DAY
Mike Foltynewicz is now 3-1 with a 1.66 ERA. He didn't get his first win until May last year. It is beyond nice to see such a great start from one of our top prospects.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Jonathan Villar had a much-needed day of great offense. He has started off slowly, but a 3x4 night with three RBI will go a long way toward getting him back on track. And Andrew Simunic's two double, four RBI night is noteworthy as well. However, they will both have to take a back seat to Zach Johnson who continues to make a statement in Lexington. After a 2x4 night with a double and five RBI, he is hitting .322 and has 23 RBI which leads the Sally League.
For more information (and different perspectives), you should check out Astros County and The Crawfish Boxes for their minor league recaps.
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